BDA Rugby Update

Mr Thornton: Year 8 went to the RFU Developing Schools Tournament high in confidence after a run of good form. The tournament was held in the lovely setting of Merchant Tailors School in North West London and with the sun shining it was turning into the perfect day for rugby.

BDA opened up against Haverstock and their positive outlook was soon dealt a blow and after dropping the ball in front of their own posts Haverstock took an early 5 v 0 lead. BDA fought back and scored 2 tries to make it 10 v 5 but sloppy defending lead to another Haverstock try. A frustrating game ended on a positive note when the bullocking Kaelan Paul scored with no time left on the clock. Get out of jail card played. A win, but time to wake up.

The 2nd game was against Lea Valley. It was a far more confident display and ended in a 30 v 5 victory to BDA. A good attacking performance but again defensive frailties showed and a poor try was conceded. After 2 games our report card read: Attack – Good, Defence – Must try harder!

Our 3rd game was against City Academy (the strongest team in the competition). With the whole of the Hackney Club side playing they proved too strong for an improving BDA winning the game 15 v 5.

Our final pool fixture was against Heydon and it proved to be our best game of the day. A well drilled attacking Heydon were continuously foiled by a fantastically organised and efficient BDA defence. The game ended 10 v 0 and a massive step in the right direction for BDA. Our best defensive display to date and that win meant that we qualified for the top pool in the afternoon.

The afternoon pool was a tough affair. A good win against Jewish Free School followed up by a draw against Cardinal Wiseman set us up nicely for a shot at winning the whole tournament. The last 2 games saw the boys run out of steam and losses to City Academy and Capital City put any dreams of the trophy to bed and meant a 3rd place finish for the day.

Conclusions

Massive strides forward made in defence but higher fitness levels are required if we are to move to the next level and compete for trophies. A huge well done to the impressive Aston Solomon for his performance over the day.